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| Do I Bite? Why Do You Ask? |
By now we've heard from an army of celebrities the horrors of colon cancer. The medical community touts colonoscopy as "the preferred method" for detecting colon cancer, so we've swallowed the absolue need for testing, just as we swallow the dreaded Golytely. Any resemblance to Holly Golytely is dispelled within seconds of retrieving the prescription. We may choke on it, until we're in the grips of dizziness and nausea, but it's for our own good ... right?
If people let the government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as the souls who live under tyranny. ― Thomas Jefferson
We're vulnerable, people, driven by fear. We're just not paying attention to the cost of testing we perceive as definitive and needful. We're not thinking about all the hikes in insurance premiums for providing products and services at exorbitant rates. Big Insurance, money, marketing and standings have taken over our medical care. Back to the marketing aspect ... what's your favorite public service spot for colonoscopy? My favorite was the actress in her hospital gown, propped up on her elbow, riding a gurney with her tiny Yorkshire terrier. I'll attest to the fact she couldn't have better protection from medical blunders than a feisty little terrier.
If you've read the Times article, you know that, were you to live in another country, your colonoscopy will cost you, your insurer, your government, in the hundreds of dollars. As you live in the United States, however, the cost is in the thousands. Nor, is the federal government's system of "rating" Medicare insurers helping.
I'll use my current Medicare insurer as an example. I selected Kaiser Permanente, specifically, for its five-star rating. The honeymoon is over, and I'm planning to drop Kaiser, during open enrollment in October 2013. A couple of letters urging me to reply to a managed care questionnaire, I admit, did not compel me to pay attention. Next I started receiving increasingly urgent letters from Kaiser, usually with my name, address, or other information incorrect or missing. From the get go, Kaiser alerted me about such non-events as my missing Social Security number on their records.
Some Kaiser letters alleged a colon cancer screening test was sent to me, and I'd failed to return the test kit and sample, as instructed. I wrote Kaiser back, stating I'd not received the kit, and that, if Kaiser wanted my shit, they'd have to send me their shit first. Another letter stated my PCP had noted the absence of a panoply of tests. The letter demanded I fast, and report for testing to a designated place at a designated date and time. There was only one problem. I had not selected, had not seen, any Kaiser physician or clinic.
At one point I did go to a Silver Sneakers exercise class, just to observe. Good God, I thought, have I really reached such an advanced age I can't escape this bad euphemism or break a sweat?
I've written the Kaiser people off. It's a five star romance gone sour. Admittedly I'd be lax about the periodic ordeals and the team health management concept, anyway. I'm big one having the people who propose to "manage" my healthcare, get my name, rank and serial number right. I'd like to have the luxury of actually selecting a physician, based on his or her qualifications, experience and other charms.
Call me crazy, but the government's rating system is all hokum to me. In a time when everyone, from our legislators to our nation's President, throws elders to the wolves, I'd like to see stringent cost regulation in place and enforced.
P. S. I'm thinking of signing off on my blog posts. What do you think? I vote for What's-Her-Name, Oh-You-Know, the Cranky Buzzardette from Denver.
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